Colorado Rockies: Pitching Struggles Again in Loss
On a cold, bitter night at Coors Field, the Pittsburgh Pirates took the Colorado Rockies deep, early and often. They also took the second game of a four-game series from the Rockies, 9-4, handing Colorado its sixth loss in its last seven outings.
Jorge De La Rosa took to the bump for the Colorado Rockies against old skipper Clint Hurdle and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jordy Mercer led off the game for Pittsburgh and subsequently flew out to deep right-center field, an indication of things to came. In back-to-back at-bats, Andrew McCutchen, who had struggled through a slump entering Tuesday’s game, and David Freese took Jorge yard. The Pirates would add one more in the first for a quick 3-0 lead.
De La Rosa got two quick two outs to start the second and was appearing to settle in, but then McCutchen launched his second solo shot of the game.
Moving into the third inning, De La Rosa would load the bases yet again only to get bailed out by Gerrit Cole who grounded out. To make matters worse for De La Rosa, he would come up limping while running out a ground ball in the bottom half of the third. Christian Bergman would have to come on in relief.
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At no point in his outing did De La Rosa look comfortable. His velocity was down, frequently touching only 88-89 MPH. Jorge was also erratic, walking multiple guys, hitting batters, and throwing wild pitches. In 79 pitches thrown, Jorge threw only a mere 39 for strikes. By all accounts, De La Rosa is having a horrid start to the season as he now sports a 10.18 ERA, clearly not what Rockies fans are used to from their all-time winningest pitcher. On an extremely off night, Jorge and the Rockies staff looked like they were auditioning to pitch at this year’s Home Run Derby.
The Rockies didn’t go quietly into the night however. Bergman came on strong in long relief to regain some team confidence on the mound. The Rockies would then add their first run of the game on an RBI groundout by Brandon Barnes. Nolan Arenado got the best of a Cole slider and sent a solo shot over center field to close the gap to just two runs. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, Arenado would again get the better of Cole and send a ball into left field. One run scored but another run was cut down at the plate by Starling Marte. The Rockies appeared to be gaining momentum but then McCutchen would strike again. With two on and one out, McCutchen would launch his third home run of the night and the Pirates would never look back.
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The frustration in Colorado is almost tangible. While the offense has been strong times, it has been nonexistent at others. Colorado is scoring runs, albeit not consistently. Rockies fans knew the team was going to hit … just like Colorado has hit every year in its 24-year history. One thing the Rockies just aren’t doing at all during their recent skid is pitching well and giving their offense a chance to win games. Pitching struggles are nothing new to Colorado fans … and that’s perhaps the most frustrating part about it.
NOTES
⇒ Charlie Blackmon made a rehab start in his journey back to from a turf toe injury, going 0-for-3 at Class-A Modesto.
⇒ In the bottom of the sixth, Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu avoided a tag at home that would have easily been overturn by replay, but the Rockies were out of challenges.
⇒ Walt Weiss confirmed after the game that that De La Rosa pulled his groin. The severity of the injury is unclear but it would not be surprising at all to see him land on the disabled list.